Atlas Restoration LLC

best and above expected

They did an excellent job

Fine, took less than an hour.

.

We have used them twice.

unknown

EXCELLENT! One of our best experiences with a home repair firm. Our structural engineer had recommended Atlas, but we still got 2 additional quotes. They were the most expensive one by about $2K, but they worked with us to reduce expenses. Chris Heintz had the best company overview. He was persistent, but not obnoxious as another company called every day for 7 days. Will, the project manager, took over the job once we were scheduled. He was awesome! So nice, explained everything thoroughly. We left the guys here all day while we went to work. They were great professionals through and through. The work area was clean and safe at the end of the day. Will called a week later when he realized they didn't install a necessary piece by the drainage. They came out that day to make the corrections. My only wish is that Atlas offered more services!

It was very good. Gary from Atlas gave us an initial bid in September; we delayed the work until December, at which point they gave us a discount. He obtained the permits with the city so, when the inspector came to review the work, everything went smoothly. The crew was professional, courteous, worked hard and got the job done exactly when and how they said it would happen. We are very satisfied.

This was a major construction project that required a company with very specialized skills to solve our problem. There aren't a lot of companies that do this kind of work and we received a few proposals ranging from $20k to $37k. Atlas wasn't the cheapest or the most expensive but they stood head & shoulders above the rest in terms of experienced with this type of work. They perform both residental and commercial work and Chris Heintz did a phenomenoal job selling us/making us comfortable with their process. Their record with the BBB is spotless and the provided us with a plathora of rock-solid references. Atlas managed the enitre job from start to finsh with their own employees and equipment (no subs). They use their own engineers to do the plannig and they also have have a full-time office/admin team that handled the permitting with Cook county. This was probably worth the cost of the job since they certainly got that paperwork through more efficiently than we ever would have been able to do myslef. This is important to note because Atlas was the only company who was staffed with the resources to handle the all engineering & permitting. Estimates from the other companies we considered did not include these services and we would have had to hire and coordiate those people ourselves. After a few delays in the permitting process, the owner of the company personally made a couple trips to downtown Chicago to hand-walk the paperwork to the right people in the permitting office. As to the project itself, it was an amazing process to live through. We literally couldn't step out our back door because there was an 8' deep hole running the length of our house. The house was gently hoisted up approx 1/4" off it's foundation and \supported from below by a series of hydraulic columns until the new concrete wall was ready to support the house again. That said, we actually lived in the house throughout the entire process and although the basement got dusty the rest of the living areas were unaffected. There was no notable damge to our wood floors, doorways, etc. A little bit about the crew: The quality of work & professionalism of the crew exceeded all our expectations. It took approximately 3 weeks and they ran a very clean and safe jobsite. A lot of it was hard labor with digging and jackhammers but Joe & his crew actually seemed to enjoy what they were doing and I think that says a lot about how a company is run. Since our basement was completely exposed to the elements for most of the project, they took extra measures to protect it from flooding and rain. Every day, the opening was completely sealed off with a plastic curtain, all dirt was covered with tarps to prevent mudslides, and a temporary sump pit/pump was placed at the bottom of the pit to keep the area dry. They also roped off the area at the end of every day and neatly secured all equipment. They also had the idea to lay down probably 100+ sheets of plywood from the street all the way up our driveway and around to the back yard in an attempt to protect our grass & driveway from the weight of the heavy equipment. I plan to upload a few pictures soon. I would unconitionally recommend Atlas to anyone who needs this kind of work performed. There's no other company we would have gone with to fix our most valuable investment. A+.

Overall estimate/sales cycle was professional, we didn't feel rushed. I had two other proposals (one below and one above in pricing). I asked Atlas to add the epoxy to the cracks, which was not included in the original price, and they did with no extra charge. In order for the work to be done inside the crawlspace, they had to pull up the radon-protection (plastic covering in the crawl). As the work was wrapping up, we had to ask/help them re-install the plastic covering, but they helped us with that as well.

Prior to joining Angie's List, we called the more recognized names in the waterproofing space to come out and provide quotes for repairing our leak. Both identified the problem correctly and had multiple solutions to fix (one interior drainage system, and the other, an exterior chimney "wrap"). However both quotes exceeded $2500. We decided to check out Angie's List to figure out which of the two to go with. We then found Atlas and decided to have them come out and give us a quote for the repair. The sales person was very nice and provided us with the same exterior solution at a much cheaper price. We agreed and got it scheduled. However, after reviewing the quote sheet more closely, I noticed that he had marked "crack repair" at $500/crack, rather than the exterior system. I knew there was at least 2 cracks and didn't want to end up paying more once they dug around the chimney. I did have to make a couple of calls to the sales guy, who then amended it with $500 for first crack and $200 for each additional crack. I also had him clarify that is wasn't just crack filling, but the "wrap" system and backfill as he discussed. He assured me it was. We felt comfortable enough with that to move forward, although we would recommend having that all spelled out in the quote at the time of the quote for clarity. In our case, we had to have our air conditioner moved and the paver bricks pulled up on our own. Not a big deal, but know that Atlas doesn't do that sort of thing (or may but it would be extra). It took a couple of weeks from the time we signed the contract, to when they came to do the work ? which we felt was reasonable. When the two servicemen arrived, the lack of detail in the quote came up. They thought they were simply repairing some cracks on the inside, and not doing the full wrap. Having said that, the 2 servicemen didn?t grimace or flinch and got started working right away. They were courteous and seemed to be experts in this type of repair. They laid down plastic so as not to get our patio dirty as they dug around the chimney. They found the problem and fixed it with hydraulic cement, membrane (?wrap?) and then back filled with Bentonite ? a super absorbent clay. They did run into a snag with some concrete blocking one of the cracks. They didn?t have a jackhammer available, so they had to come back the next day. They did so (with no complaints), and finished the job. They put all dirt back into place and left the area in good order. Our leak was small, but every time it rained we had water in our basement. It has since rained twice (once all day) and we have had no water coming in. So long towels! The work is also warranted, and the warranty can be passed on if we sell the house. Although they did EVERYTHING the salesperson said they would, the price was so good that it made us a bit nervous at the beginning that we didn?t have it all in writing, so get everything in writing, upfront.

No work was done as we decided to go with another contractor.

We had a complex problem and Atlas was able to fix it with a creative (and not too expensive) solution. The crew that came was led by a man named Jesus, who was good at explaining what they were doing, but he was gone for most of the day at another job and his crew did not speak English so sometimes it was difficult to communicate with them. But they seemed to do a good job, and the solution works very well -- no leaks from those spots even after the flooding we had in our area. They did an okay job of cleaning up afterwords -- some stray hydraulic cement, and they ended up using some gravel that we had waiting for another job.

The work was done very professionally. Upon completion Atlas restored the area around the foundation to the point that it was difficult to tell they had ever been there. They handled all permits and inspections. However, they had to sink the piers much further than they had anticipated, causing a significant cost overrun (paid by us). This was after we had warned them about the potential problem, and they had assured us that there would be no issue.

They were great and I was very happy with them. They were professional and were quick in getting the job done. They were honest and they told me what they were doing at all times. They were a pleasure to work with.

It was average, well it took them a while to get the estimate, communication was limited and not very easy. The estimate office and the contractor didn't communicate well. It didn't flow very smooth. The person who did it didn't seem to be in a hurry to get done.

It went well. They came in with a bobcat and dug a big hole under the house, and from there they moved the rest of the dirt, then they put in the concrete walls and floors. They finished the job on time and on budget. They were friendly, thorough, and courteous.

Salesperson was very courteous and explained the entire process of underpinning. Permit applications were submitted in a timely manner. The work team arrive on time (actually early), were polite, thorough, and cleaned up after themselves. They took very good care of our home through a nerve wrecking process of stabilizing and lifting the corner of our home over an inch. I don't know what more I could have asked for! Update: 6 years later and house is rock solid!

I have a 100 yr old home that has a stone and brick foundation. The mortar has worn away around the base of the foundation and there is some cracking. Another company came out and said that they can't tell anything until they dig a trench along the entire length of the 25 ft wall 10 feet deep. This seemed a bit extreme since I have had no major issues other then the exterior sight problems. Atlas came out and surveyed the entire situation and felt at this time the foundation did not need to be disturbed. There were no major warning signs that merited further action other than some cosmetic tuck-pointing. I greatly appreciated their honest assessment since they benefited no further than this review, which I am glad to write.

Very good work. Recommended by Stuart Jacobson. Note, work completed in 2005.

After several phone calls and setting up an appointment, representative calls and asked what needed to be done. Explained what needed to be done again as in previous phone calls. Rep. said job was too small and they don't do that!

We had bids from three companies. We chose Atlas - the highest bidder - because their system appeared to be the best. Also, they guaranteed that the building would be raised. Their sales representative gave us a thorough explanation of the process. Once the team started, the job continued over three days until it was completed. This included a thorough cleanup including tamping the surrounding soil. A section of sidewalk had to be removed and it was replaced a few days later by Atlas. The job was expensive but we felt that it was unwise to allow the building to continue to settle. As of now, we are very satisfied.

ATLAS WAS THE HIGHEST ESTIMATE WE RECEIVED TO DO THIS TYPE OF WORK ON OUR HOME. WE CHOSE THEM BASED ON THE QUALITY OF THE STEEL THEY USE FOR THEIR PIERS. J. RAMIREZ WAS IN CHARGE OF THE WORK. HE WAS FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL ANYTIME WE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WORK. THE WORK WAS COMPLETED WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME GIVEN. WE WERE PRESENT WHEN THE TEAM LIFTED THE HOUSE AS WELL AS THE VILLAGE INSPECTOR. THE WORKERS WERE POLITE AND LEFT THE WORKSITE CLEAN EVERYDAY. THE WORK DONE WAS DONE IN SUCH A WAY THAT NO DAMAGE WAS DONE TO THE YARD. THE ONLY THING WE HAD TO DO WHEN THEY WERE DONE WAS TO PLACE OUR LANDSCAPING BRICKS BACK AND WE WERE AWARE OF THIS BEFOREHAND. OUR ONLY NEGATIVE COMMENTS WOULD BE THAT ONCE WE SIGNED THE CONTRACT THE CUSTOMER SERVICE SEEMED TO STOP. WE HAD TO CALL SEVERAL TIMES TO CHECK ON THE SCHEDULING OF THE WORK. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE AFTER AGREEING TO PAY THAT MUCH MONEY IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN KEEPING US INFORMED OF THE SITUATION. OVERALL OUR EXPERIENCE WAS VERY POSITIVE.

MY GRIPE WITH ATLAS IS THAT I DON'T FEEL THEY INFORM ME OF ALL AVAILABLE OPTIONS. IN ADDITION, GETTING A BUILDING PERMIT WITH MY CITY (CHICAGO) WAS INDIRECTLY DISCOURAGED. THEY JUST KEPT POINTING OUT ALL THE NEGATIVES THAT I WOULD RUN INTO IN ACQUIRING A PERMIT, LIKE THE LENGTHY APPROVAL PROCESS AND PERMIT COST. THE APPROVAL PROCESS WAS A CINCH AND THE PERMIT COSTS WERE ABOUT $300, NOT EXACTLY A POCKET BOOK BREAKER. WITH THIS TYPE OF JOB A CITY INSPECTOR HAS TO SIGN-OFF ON WORK. I HAD TO FOLLOW-UP TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS DONE. IN ADDITION, THE ARCHITECT MADE CERTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH WERE NOT FOLLOWED UNTIL I BROUGHT IT UP. WITH REGARDS TO THE WORKERS WHO PERFORMED THE PROCEDURE, THEY WERE COURTEOUS AND RESPONSIVE AND WALKED ME THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS. OVERALL THE WORK PERFORMED WAS FAIR, BUT FAIR DOES NOT CUT IT WHEN YOU PAY SO MUCH FOR A PROCEDURE. THIS WAS VERY EXPENSIVE TO DO & I ALSO HAD TO PAY FOR PERMIT FEES, ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS AND HAD TO GET THE PERMIT MYSELF.

VERY CONCERNED ABOUT DOING THE JOB RIGHT. A VERY TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT AND COSTLY JOB TO DO. THEY WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT I WAS HAPPY WITH THE WORK, AND I AM.